A Pillar of Ash and Dust

Life in the Dustlands is unforgiving, governed by the iron-fisted rule of an empire that is emboldened in power and greed. However, through a tradition called the Horkos and the people’s wavering will to fight, they maintain the control of all life in the palms of their hands with promised hope for a better life. For the past 14 years, every month, a randomly chosen number of citizens are given a choice, where a life of luxury awaits them inside the empire’s walls. However, when Kage’s father—the last of his family and the greatest forger in Dustlands’ history—disappears without a trace, Kage uncovers the dark truth behind the empire\'s tradition.
Determined to find his father, Kage infiltrates the empire’s stronghold, nestled on the mountainside to the north. What he discovers shatters his world: the promised luxury is a facade, and the citizens taken by the Horkos are being slaughtered to create weapons of war. As the empire announces the final Horkos, Kage realizes he cannot take them down alone. With a secret of his own and the determination to gather a team of crooked souls, he vows to bring the empire to their knees and rescue his father—if he’s still alive.